1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable kit and a method to identify methyl methacrylate (MMA) in liquid monomers by a calorimetric method.
2. Background Art
There exists a dire need in the nail care industry to identify MMA in the liquid monomer used to form artificial nails. The presence of MMA in liquid monomers to form artificial fingernails has been banned by Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) because of its deleterious properties. To date, there has not been a portable method to determine MMA or any other monomer at field sites. Chromatography techniques like gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy, are the only methods to detect monomers. These instruments of analysis are bulky and are definitely not portable to be carried to field sites for spot analysis. The lack of portable methods to determine MMA has hampered the policing activity of health regulators. These regulators have to ship the liquid samples suspected to contain MMA to commercial analytical laboratories for analysis. Test results for these liquid samples are obtained in about a week. This process, besides being expensive, is time consuming and policing of the nail care salons becomes ineffective.
There is thus a need for a method, which besides being portable and inexpensive, can identify MMA in liquid monomers within minutes. Armed with a portable kit, the health regulators would be far more effective in rooting out corrupt salons that continue to use MMA in preparing artificial nails.